Why does 'run as Administrator' fix my Silver Efex problem?

Question

I have had a problem with the Nik Software Silver Efex Pro (SEP) plugin running extremely slowly, but only at certain times. It's been pretty good for the past few months, but it suddenly took a nose-dive a few days ago. It takes ages to load the presets and to process the image in Photoshop once I have made my selections in SEP. I just thought that as SEP is a direct plugin to CS6 Photoshop then perhaps it's something to do with the way Photoshop itself runs. I switched the running of Photoshop to 'Run as administrator' (just right click the program in the start menu and go to compatability tab) and SEP now runs extremely fast. No problems at all. I also think (but have no way of measuring it) that Photoshop is running faster in general. Does anyone know why running as Admin should make such a difference? Are there any problems in running in Admin mode?
I run Norton Internet Security, and thought that as I'm now OK in Admin mode it might be a virus-checker problem, and running in Admin mode was getting around the problem. I do have both versions of Photoshop (32 and 64 bit) incuded to 'allow' access in Norton.
Here is my system config. My PC runs very well in all other respects.
System Information
Time of this report: 6/27/2012, 17:44:57
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1 (7601.win7sp1_gdr.120503-2030)
System Manufacturer: Acer
System Model: Aspire M5811
BIOS: Default System BIOS
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU         650  @ 3.20GHz (4 CPUs), ~3.2GHz
Memory: 12288MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 12216MB RAM
Page File: 5813MB used, 18614MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
User DPI Setting: 120 DPI (125 percent)
System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled
Display Devices
Card name: ATI Radeon HD 5570
Manufacturer: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
Chip type: ATI display adapter (0x68D9)
DAC type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_68D9&SUBSYS_E142174B&REV_00
Display Memory: 2761 MB
Dedicated Memory: 1006 MB
Shared Memory: 1755 MB
Current Mode: 1920 x 1080 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor Name: SyncMaster P2450H(Digital)
Monitor Model: SyncMaster
Monitor Id: SAM05CC
Native Mode: 1920 x 1080(p) (60.000Hz)
Output Type: DVI
Driver Name: aticfx64.dll,aticfx64.dll,aticfx64.dll,aticfx32,aticfx32,aticfx32,atiumd64.dll,atidxx64.d ll,atidxx64.dll,atiumdag,atidxx32,atidxx32,atiumdva,atiumd6a.cap,atitmm64.dll
Driver File Version: 8.17.0010.1114 (English)
Driver Version: 8.930.0.0
DDI Version: 11
Driver Model: WDDM 1.1
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 12/6/2011 04:16:00, 933888 bytes
WHQL Logo'd: Yes
WHQL Date Stamp:
Device Identifier: {D7B71EE2-2B99-11CF-A170-48C1BEC2C535}
Vendor ID: 0x1002

Answer 1

I'm not saying Norton is your problem, but I haven't heard good things about Norton software in a long time, unfortunately.
I always recommend Avast! antivirus to people.  The free version is very good in itself, and they offer a more comprehensive Internet Security version as well.
I don't know how technically-oriented you are, but if you do understand how things work fairly well and have taken measures and adopted good practices to avoid running malware, there is the possibility of just shutting off UAC (MIcrosoft User Account Control) if its operation continually gets in the way of your completing your work.  Typically, most people just get in the habit of confirming whatever prompts come up anyway, which defeats most of the protection UAC can afford.
-Noel